Earleene C. McKinnon

PORTSMOUTH - Earleene C. "Ashley" McKinnon of Portsmouth, born March 27, 1940, in Nashua to Earl W. and Constance E. Wilkins, passed away on Nov. 1, 2013. She left this world peacefully, surrounded by her loving family, after a long illness.

Earleene was raised in Nashua, where she attended Crowley Elementary School and Spring Street Junior High School. She graduated from Nashua High School in 1957, and later attended the University of New Hampshire in Durham, as well as Rivier College in Nashua.

Following the untimely death of her father in 1943, Earleene lived with her maternal grandparents, Rachel and Charles Dawson in Maynard, Mass., and was later adopted and raised by Contance's second husband, H. Vernon Ayer in 1947, until his death in 1962.

In 1961, after a brief career as a flight attendant, Earleene met, and married Richard G. Finucan Jr., also of Nashua. The couple had two sons, Richard III, and Michael. She taught at Humpty Dumpty Kindergarten in Nashua. In 1972 the family moved to Bedford, where Earleene founded the Bedford Village Morning School, which she owned and operated until her departure in 1978. The school remains in existence today.

Shortly thereafter, Earleene leveraged her exceptional teaching, managerial and people skills and went on to a successful career in real estate with Norwood Realty in Bedford, eventually managing the company's offices in Salem and Portsmouth.

In 1986 Earleene met her second husband, Donald D. "Ace" McKinnon of Cape Neddick, Maine. The couple were married in 1993. After Mr. McKinnon's retirement from ThermaTru corporation of Toledo, Ohio, the couple operated a successful building products wholesale business, known as The Shoreline Group. They were members of Cape Neddick Country Club, where they shared their mutual passions for golf and socializing with friends.

The McKinnons later purchased a home in St. Andrews, New Brunswick, Canada and spent many happy years between their homes in Canada, New England and Florida.

At the time of her death, Earleene was completing final edits to a screenplay she co-authored. The script is currently in development with a Hollywood production company.

Earleene spent a lifetime pursuing her many passions, among them writing, reading, traveling, music and theater, word games, antiques and interior design. She was most at home by the ocean, and happiest spending time with her family, and most especially her six grandchildren.

Earleene was a larger-than-life character who touched countless lives in so many positive ways. She will be forever loved and missed by those so fortunate to have known her.

Earleene was preceded in death by her mother, Constance Bartlett; father, Earl Wilkins; adoptive father, H. Vernon Ayer; stepfather, Howard Bartlett; half-brother, Vernon "Buddy" Ayer; and stepson, Michael McKinnon.

She is survived by husband, Donald McKinnon; sons, Richard Finucan, Michael Finucan and his wife, Holly, all of Portsmouth; stepsons, Donald McKinnon Jr. of Somersworth, and James McKinnon of Ossipee; daughters-in-law, Nancy Maguire of Amherst, and Laura Thibault of Kingston; sister, Holly McNamara and her husband, George, of Salem; stepbrother, Arthur Bartlett of Hudson and his wife, Pamela; and stepsister, Janet Gaudet of Rotunda West, Fla. She is also survived by her grandchildren, Connor Finucan of Amherst, Emma and Evelyn Finucan of York, Maine, Cameron McKinnon of Dover, and Emmet and Rhys McKinnon of Kingston.

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services: A memorial service will be held on Thursday, Nov. 14, at 11 a.m., at First Church in Nashua. The family requests that, in lieu of flowers, donations be made to the American Cancer Society.